"Oh, Andrew, you're awake?"
A petite figure slipped into the tent, it was little Sophie.
Andrew looked over and found the little girl wasn't particularly injured. Was it because his rescue was timely, or her own physique?
Hmm, perhaps that piece of cloth he used had an effect...
At this moment, little Sophie no longer looked like the charred figure she was when she first came out of the fire sea. Although Wildfire Town was extremely dry, Aunt Sofia had apparently washed her daughter's face well.
The girl's skin wasn't too fair, nor exceptionally beautiful, but she was lively and healthy, with a cute nose and very expressive eyes.
Seeing Andrew wake up, little Sophie was shocked at first, then her eyes turned red.
She rushed to the bed and threw herself onto it: "Wahhh, Andrew, although you're awake now, you're still going to die soon. Wahhh..."
Andrew thought to himself, according to this world's norms, I should indeed die within seven days from lung failure, perhaps even sooner.
Fortunately, he had the "Water Spirit Technique"!
Thinking this, Andrew suddenly froze.
The Water Spirit Technique could heal lung burns...
Putting out fires could unlock the Tear of the Water God...
Andrew vaguely felt he had grasped something!
Seeing Andrew silent, little Sophie cried even more sorrowfully. Suddenly, she bit her lip and said, "Since Andrew saved me, then... I'm yours now."
Andrew was trying hard to grasp the elusive but important thought and replied without thinking, "There's... no need for that."
But little Sophie lifted her face, her big eyes filled with determination, saying, "Although I can't save you, I can preserve your bloodline's legacy. Before Andrew dies, I... I'm willing to be your wife and bear your child. Let's not waste time, we should—ouch!"
Andrew gently tapped the girl's head, thinking what kind of strange girl did he save here?
Girl, do you know that at your age you'd still be a minor in my original world? Even touching you could land me in jail!
But seeing little Sophie's plaintive yet serious eyes as she rubbed her head, he couldn't help but sigh, saying, "Don't worry, I won't die."
Little Sophie clearly didn't believe him, looking up with tear-filled eyes: "But Grand Mage Hubert said Andrew..."
Andrew said, "Grand Mage Hubert got it wrong, Andrew is not like others. Those people got their lungs damaged by smoke and magic elements in the fire and may not survive, but Andrew is definitely okay—ah!"
Suddenly, Andrew exclaimed with a look of surprise and delight.
Finally grasping that vague but instinctively important thought:
The Water Spirit Technique could heal his lung damage.
Could it also be used to heal other dying people with lung damage in this world?
Putting out fires... saving fire victims theoretically falls under the broad definition of firefighting?
—Simply put, if right now, he was given a patient with lung damage from the fire, and he secretly used the Water Spirit Technique to heal them, could he further unlock more and stronger abilities from the Tear of the Water God?
This idea made Andrew's heart race!
Little Sophie then asked skeptically, "Andrew isn't like others and won't die from lung damage, right? Then... then what if, seven days later, Grand Mage Hubert finds out Andrew isn't dead..."
Andrew felt a chill.
This was indeed the biggest problem now: he wouldn't die, but seven days later, Hubert finding him alive would definitely be curious.
Then, he'd either have to pretend to be dead or flee, or he'd have to gain strength to confront that old mage!
Yet, he only had seven days!
"Where's your mom?" Andrew asked little Sophie.
The urgent task was to ask Aunt Sofia about how many patients with lung injuries were there in Wildfire Town.
If he could boost his power by using the Water Spirit Technique to treat others' injuries within seven days, that would be ideal.
If he was wrong and couldn't boost his power, or couldn't reach a level to face that old mage, then... he had to consider fleeing as the last resort. But that would be the worst choice.
The area around Wildfire Town was surrounded by desert, with extreme conditions on one hand, and the presence of Desolate Beasts on the other hand, potentially more terrifying than the old mage Hubert.
Kids will be kids. Little Sophie didn't delve into whether Andrew would die in seven days and was soon distracted.
"Mom went to Uncle Ivan's to exchange food," she replied.
Exchange food?
After hearing this, Andrew thought about it a bit and understood.
With the house burned down, they could only temporarily stay at a tent in the makeshift camp, and food was scarce.
It made sense for Aunt Sofia to go exchange food with someone.
As for this Uncle Ivan... Andrew searched his memories and found little information.
Sophie said with a smile, "Uncle Ivan used to be the strongest 'Desert Hunter' in town, but after injuring his lungs, he no longer hunted Desolate Beasts outside town. But he's very nice to mom and me, giving us food every month."
Andrew's eyes lit up after hearing this.
Whether Ivan was a good person, Andrew didn't know or care.
The key point was what Sophie said: "Uncle Ivan was the strongest Desert Hunter, but injured his lungs."
Injured his lungs!
A powerful Desert Hunter with lung injuries?
Andrew slightly squinted his eyes.
After a brief thought, Andrew stood up, gently stroked Sophie's hair: "Be good and stay at the camp, Andrew will be back soon."
"Ah? Andrew, it's not good for you to go out right now. Where are you... where are you going?"
Sophie hesitated, instinctively holding onto Andrew's hand.
"It's okay, I'm just going for a walk, I'll be back soon."
Andrew gave the girl a reassuring smile, gently patting her hand.
After rescuing Sophie from the fire last night, she naturally developed some attachment to him.
But some things couldn't be explained to Sophie...
No, it couldn't be explained to anyone but himself.
Andrew rubbed Sophie's hair again, then turned and lifted the curtain, exiting the temporary camp's tent in a hurry.
Sophie watched Andrew's departing figure from the camp, feeling that the slightly thin back seemed... different from the Andrew she knew?
As for what was different, the girl tilted her head and thought for a while, but couldn't pinpoint it.